Air duct machine

ABSTRACT

An air duct machine including a cabinet, an electric control box, a heat exchanger and a centrifugal fan; the electric control box, the heat exchanger and the centrifugal fan are all disposed inside the cabinet, one of side panels of the cabinet is provided with a return air vent and an air outlet, the electric control box is disposed close to the return air vent, the centrifugal fan is disposed close to the air outlet, and the heat exchanger is disposed between the electric control box and the centrifugal fan. This improves the selectivity and flexibility of installation of the air duct machine, and facilitates maintenance. The air duct machine can have an ultra-thin design when installed in the ceiling or wall, so that the installation space is reduced. Moreover, the airflow direction will not change due to the change of the installation method.

FIELD

The present disclosure belongs to the technical field of airconditioning, and particularly provides an air duct machine.

BACKGROUND

An air duct machine or ducted air conditioner is a type of airconditioner, and has the advantages of saving space, leaving no deadspots in sanitation, and requiring only a local ceiling. It is moreaesthetically beautiful than wall-mounted air conditioners and cabinetair conditioners since the air duct machine is of a built-in type, inwhich only air vents (including a return air vent and an air outlet) areexposed to the outside.

In the related art, the air duct machines are mostly of an ultra-thindesign; in order to reduce the depth of the ceiling, a structural designin which the return air vent is located on the side and the air outletis located on a lower portion or both the return air vent and the airoutlet are located on the lower portion is generally used. This designnot only imposes limitations on the installation of the air ductmachine, but also is adverse to the maintenance of the air duct machine.

Therefore, there is a need for a new air duct machine in the art tosolve the above problems.

SUMMARY

In order to solve the above problems in the related art, namely, tosolve the problems that the installation of existing air duct machineshas limitations and the maintenance of the air duct machines isinconvenient, the present disclosure provides an air duct machine,wherein the air duct machine includes a cabinet, an electric controlbox, a heat exchanger and a centrifugal fan; the electric control box,the heat exchanger and the centrifugal fan are all disposed inside thecabinet, one of side panels of the cabinet is provided with a return airvent and an air outlet, the electric control box is disposed close tothe return air vent, the centrifugal fan is disposed close to the airoutlet, and the heat exchanger is disposed between the electric controlbox and the centrifugal fan.

In a preferred technical solution of the above air duct machine, the airoutlet includes a first air outlet and a second air outlet, and thecentrifugal fan includes a first centrifugal fan and a secondcentrifugal fan, wherein the first air outlet and the second air outletare disposed on both sides of the return air vent respectively, thefirst centrifugal fan is disposed close to the first air outlet, and thesecond centrifugal fan is disposed close to the second air outlet.

In a preferred technical solution of the above air duct machine, theheat exchanger includes a first portion, a second portion, and a thirdportion connecting the first portion with the second portion, whereinthe first portion and the second portion are disposed on both sides ofthe electric control box respectively, and the first portion, the secondportion, the third portion and the return air vent together form anaccommodation space capable of accommodating the electric control box.

In a preferred technical solution of the above air duct machine, thefirst portion and the third portion are disposed at a first includedangle therebetween, the second portion and the third portion aredisposed at a second included angle therebetween, and the degree of thefirst included angle is the same as the degree of the second includedangle.

In a preferred technical solution of the above air duct machine, thefirst portion and the third portion are integrally provided.

In a preferred technical solution of the above air duct machine, thesecond portion and the third portion are integrally provided.

In a preferred technical solution of the above air duct machine, a waterreceiving tray is provided in the cabinet at the bottom of the heatexchanger.

In a preferred technical solution of the above air duct machine, thewater receiving tray is fixedly connected to an inner bottom wall of thecabinet.

In a preferred technical solution of the above air duct machine, boththe return air vent and the air outlet are disposed on a front sidepanel of the cabinet.

In a preferred technical solution of the above air duct machine, thecabinet is a sheet metal structural member.

It can be understood by those skilled in the art that in a preferredtechnical solution of the present disclosure, by disposing both thereturn air vent and the air outlet of the air duct machine on the sameside panel of the cabinet, the air duct machine may be either installedon the ceiling, or embedded into the wall, or also flexibly integratedinto the furniture, so as to provide greater selectivity and flexibilityfor the installation of the air duct machine and meet personalized andcreative demands of users at home. Moreover, since both the return airvent and the air outlet are disposed on the same side panel of thecabinet, only one side of the air duct machine needs to be exposed tothe outside; that is, air return, air discharge and maintenance of theair duct machine can all be performed on this side, which is convenientfor the maintenance personnel during maintenance. In addition, the airduct machine of the present disclosure can have a smaller installationdepth; for example, the air duct machine may have an ultra-thin designwhen installed in the ceiling, so that the installation space of theceiling is reduced and the decoration cost is reduced. The installationspace may also be saved during wall-embedded installation. Moreover, theairflow direction will not change due to the change of the installationmethod, so that compared with the existing technology in which thereturn air vent is located on the side and the air outlet is located ona lower portion or both the return air vent and the air outlet arelocated on the lower portion, more space is saved, user's demands onindoor space arrangement are met, and the user experience is improved.

Further, through the design of dual centrifugal fans and dual airoutlets, the air duct machine of the present disclosure can also ensurethe air output when designed very thin, meet the user's demands on use,and further improve the user experience.

Further, the electric control box is disposed upstream of the heatexchanger, that is, the air first passes through the electric controlbox before passing through the heat exchanger. With this arrangement,the condensation water will not be blown back to the electric controlbox, thereby ensuring the safety in using the electric control box andfurther improving the user experience.

Further, the condensation water may be sufficiently collected by thewater receiving tray to prevent the condensation water from leakingdownwards and accumulating in multiple places inside the cabinet,thereby avoiding affecting the normal operation of the air duct machine,and improving the safety of the operation of the air duct machine.

Further, the cabinet is a sheet metal structural member so that themanufacture of the cabinet is facilitated and the strength of thecabinet is ensured; therefore, the cabinet will not be easily damaged,and the structural strength and safety of the air duct machine in useare improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an external structure of an air ductmachine according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the external structure of the air ductmachine according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an internal structure of the air ductmachine according to the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the internal structure of the air ductmachine according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. Those skilled inthe art should understand that these embodiments are only used toexplain the technical principles of the present disclosure, and are notintended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that in the description of the present disclosure,directional or positional relationships indicated by terms such as“center”, “upper”, “lower”, “top”, “bottom”, “left”, “right”, “front”,“rear”, “inner” and “outer” are based on the directions or positionalrelationships shown in the drawings. They are merely used for theconvenience of description, and do not indicate or imply that the deviceor element involved must have a specific orientation, or be configuredor operated in a specific orientation, and therefore they should not beconstrued as limiting the present disclosure. In addition, terms“first”, “second”, and “third” are only used for descriptive purposes,and should not be understood as indicating or implying relativeimportance.

In addition, it should also be noted that in the description of thepresent disclosure, terms such as “dispose”, “install”, “connect” and“connection” should be understood in a broad sense, unless explicitlystated and defined otherwise; for example, they may indicate a fixedconnection, a detachable connection or an integral connection, or mayindicate a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; or mayindicate a direct connection, or an indirect connection through anintermediate medium, or an internal communication between two elements.For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above termsin the present disclosure may be interpreted according to the specificcircumstances.

In view of the problems mentioned in the background that theinstallation of existing air duct machines has limitations and themaintenance of the air duct machines is inconvenient, the presentdisclosure provides an air duct machine, which aims to improve theselectivity and flexibility of the installation of the air duct machine,facilitate the maintenance of the air duct machine, further save space,meet user's demands on use, and improve the user experience.

Specifically, the air duct machine includes a cabinet, an electriccontrol box, a heat exchanger, and a centrifugal fan. The electriccontrol box, the heat exchanger, and the centrifugal fan are alldisposed inside the cabinet, one of side panels of the cabinet isprovided with a return air vent and an air outlet, the electric controlbox is disposed close to the return air vent, the centrifugal fan isdisposed close to the air outlet, and the heat exchanger is disposedbetween the electric control box and the centrifugal fan. There may beone or more air outlets, and correspondingly, there also may be one ormore centrifugal fans. The adjustment and change of the number of thecentrifugal fans and the number of the air outlets do not impose anylimitation on the present disclosure, and are within the scope ofprotection of the present disclosure. It should be pointed out that thenumber of the air outlets and the number of the centrifugal fans arepreferably in a one-on-one correspondence, so that the air entering fromthe return air vent can be led out from different air outlets. Inaddition, the number of the return air vent may also be one or more thanone, as long as air introduction can be realized through the return airvent. The cabinet includes a top panel, a bottom panel, and a pluralityof side panels. The top panel and the bottom panel of the cabinet areconnected by the plurality of side panels. Generally, the cabinet hasfour side panels, i.e., a front panel, a rear panel, a left panel, and aright panel. In practical applications, those skilled in the art mayflexibly set the locations of the return air vent and the air outlet, aslong as the return air vent and the air outlet are disposed on the sameside panel. In the following, the technical solutions of the presentdisclosure will be described in combination with two embodimentsrespectively.

First Embodiment

In this embodiment, each of the number of the air outlets and the numberof the centrifugal fans is one. In this case, the air outlet may bedisposed on one side of the return air vent, and it is preferable todispose the air outlet on the left side or right side of the return airvent. In this way, the air duct machine can have an ultra-thin design,which shortens the installation depth of the air duct machine, therebyfacilitating the installation and arrangement of the air duct machine.With this structure, after the centrifugal fan is turned on, air can besucked in from the return air vent, then it passes through the electriccontrol box, the heat exchanger and the centrifugal fan in sequence, andfinally is blown out from the air outlet. Preferably, a water receivingtray is disposed in the cabinet and below the heat exchanger. Thecondensation water can be collected by the water receiving tray, and theheat exchanger can be fixed to an inner bottom wall of the cabinet.

In the first embodiment, the heat exchanger may be set to have a “-”shape, an arc shape, or a two-folded segment shape (such as an “L” shapeor a “V” shape), and in practical applications, those skilled in the artmay flexibly set the specific shape of the heat exchanger, as long asthe air entering from the return air vent can fully contact variousportions of the heat exchanger and therefore heat exchange can berealized.

Second Embodiment

In this embodiment, each of the number of the air outlets and the numberof the centrifugal fans is two. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4,the air outlets in the front panel of the cabinet 1 include a first airoutlet 11 and a second air outlet 12, and the centrifugal fans include afirst centrifugal fan 2 and a second centrifugal fan 3, wherein thefirst air outlet 11 and the second air outlet 12 are disposed on bothsides of the return air vent 13 respectively, the first centrifugal fan2 is disposed close to the first air outlet 11, and the secondcentrifugal fan 3 is disposed close to the second air outlet 12. Thefirst air outlet 11 and the second air outlet 12 are preferably disposedon the left side and the right side of the return air vent 13, so thatthe air duct machine can have an ultra-thin design and the air can beoutput from two positions, thereby shortening the installation depth ofthe air duct machine and meeting user's demands on use. With thisstructure, after the first centrifugal fan 2 and the second centrifugalfan 3 are turned on, the first centrifugal fan 2 can guide a part of theair entering from the return air vent 13 to the first air outlet 11through the heat exchanger 4, and the second centrifugal fan 3 can guideanother part of the air entering from the return air vent 13 to thesecond air outlet 12 through the heat exchanger 4, so as to realizesimultaneous output of the air from the first air outlet 11 and thesecond air outlet 12. Preferably, similarly to the first embodiment, awater receiving tray is disposed in the cabinet 1 and below the heatexchanger 4. The condensation water can be collected by the waterreceiving tray, and the heat exchanger 4 can be fixed to an inner bottomwall of the cabinet 1.

In the second embodiment, the heat exchanger 4 may be set to have asemi-circular shape, an arc shape, or a three-folded segment shape, etc.In practical applications, those skilled in the art may flexibly set thespecific shape of the heat exchanger 4, as long as the air entering fromthe return air vent 13 can fully contact various portions of the heatexchanger 4 and therefore heat exchange can be realized. As shown inFIGS. 3 and 4, the heat exchanger 4 preferably includes a first portion41, a second portion 42, and a third portion 43 connecting the firstportion 41 with the second portion 42. The first portion 41 and thesecond portion 42 are disposed on both sides of the electric control box5 respectively, and the first portion 41, the second portion 42, thethird portion 43 and the return air vent 13 together form anaccommodation space capable of accommodating the electric control box 5.With this arrangement, the heat exchanger 4 has a three-folded segmentshape, so that the air entering from the return air vent 13 can fullycontact the heat exchanger 4 under the action of the first centrifugalfan 2 and the second centrifugal fan 3. In this structure, it ispreferable that the first portion 41 and the third portion 43 aredisposed at a first included angle therebetween, the second portion 42and the third portion 43 are disposed at a second included angletherebetween, and the degree of the first included angle is the same asthe degree of the second included angle. For example, each of the firstincluded angle and the second included angle is set as an obtuse angle,so that the heat exchanger 4 and the air outlet enclose an accommodationspace with a trapezoidal horizontal section, thereby facilitating theaccommodation of the electric control box 5. It should be noted that thefirst portion 41 and the third portion 43 are integrally provided, andthe second portion 42 and the third portion 43 are also integrallyprovided so that the heat exchanger 4 can be manufactured in one piece.In addition, by providing two fans, i.e., the first centrifugal fan 2and the second centrifugal fan 3, in case of failure of one of thecentrifugal fans, the other centrifugal fan can continue to operate;that is, instead of outputting air from two air outlets, air is outputfrom a single air outlet, so that the air duct machine can continue tooperate. In addition, by applying corresponding control logics to thetwo centrifugal fans, the versatility of the air duct machine can alsobe achieved. For example, the air duct machine can be flexibly switchedamong no air output, single-outlet air output and dual-outlet airoutput. The improvement of the product structure does not impose anylimitation on the present disclosure, and should be included in thescope of protection of the present disclosure.

Preferably, in the present disclosure, the cabinet 1 is preferably asheet metal structural member. Of course, the cabinet 1 may also be madeof other structural members. Those skilled in the art can flexibly setthe structure and material of the cabinet 1 in practical applications,as long as components such as the electric control box 5, the heatexchanger 4, and the centrifugal fan can be accommodated and installedthrough the cabinet 1. In addition, an outer side of the cabinet 1 mayalso be provided with connection structures such as lugs, screw holesand/or hooks so as to facilitate installing the cabinet 1 into theceiling or embedding the cabinet 1 into the wall or furniture.

Heretofore, the technical solutions of the present disclosure have beendescribed in connection with the preferred embodiments shown in thedrawings, but it can be easily understood by those skilled in the artthat the scope of protection of the present disclosure is obviously notlimited to these specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art can makeequivalent changes or replacements to the related technical featureswithout departing from the principle of the present disclosure. Thetechnical solutions after the modification or replacement will fallwithin the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. An air duct machine, comprising: a cabinet, anelectric control box, a heat exchanger and a centrifugal fan; whereinthe electric control box, the heat exchanger and the centrifugal fan areall disposed inside the cabinet, a side panel of the cabinet is providedwith a return air vent and an air outlet, the electric control box isdisposed close to the return air vent, the centrifugal fan is disposedclose to the air outlet, and the heat exchanger is disposed between theelectric control box and the centrifugal fan.
 12. The air duct machineaccording to claim 11, wherein the air outlet comprises a first airoutlet and a second air outlet, the centrifugal fan comprises a firstcentrifugal fan and a second centrifugal fan, the first air outlet andthe second air outlet are disposed on both sides of the return air ventrespectively, the first centrifugal fan is disposed close to the firstair outlet, and the second centrifugal fan is disposed close to thesecond air outlet.
 13. The air duct machine according to claim 12,wherein the heat exchanger comprises a first portion, a second portion,and a third portion connecting the first portion with the secondportion, the first portion and the second portion are disposed on bothsides of the electric control box respectively, and the first portion,the second portion, the third portion and the return air vent togetherform an accommodation space capable of accommodating the electriccontrol box.
 14. The air duct machine according to claim 13, wherein thefirst portion and the third portion are disposed at a first includedangle therebetween, the second portion and the third portion aredisposed at a second included angle therebetween, and the degree of thefirst included angle is the same as the degree of the second includedangle.
 15. The air duct machine according to claim 13, wherein the firstportion and the third portion are integrally provided.
 16. The air ductmachine according to claim 13, wherein the second portion and the thirdportion are integrally provided.
 17. The air duct machine according toclaim 11, wherein a water receiving tray is provided in the cabinet atthe bottom of the heat exchanger.
 18. The air duct machine according toclaim 17, wherein the water receiving tray is fixedly connected to aninner bottom wall of the cabinet.
 19. The air duct machine according toclaim 11, wherein both the return air vent and the air outlet aredisposed on a front side panel of the cabinet.
 20. The air duct machineaccording to claim 11, wherein the cabinet is a sheet metal structuralmember.